Elizabeth Zimmermann’s pattern for a tam o’shanter in Knitting Without Tears got me through the very end of graduate school. I knit them compulsively and I still may not be finished. In addition to the three below, I also knit two more which have found good homes. One was to match a sweater I made years ago for my mom. Except the beanie, these are made of handspun yarn whose origin was fiber from dyers on etsy. These hats were a study in color and texture. Manchvegas, from Zarzuelas Fibers (the subtle colored one), is a 2-ply Falkland wool that I spun lofty and full of air. This resulted in a soft, squishy DK weight yarn which I held double to make a warm hat. Slouchy and drapey Manchvegas is by far my favorite one of these. The bullseye-looking one is in a colorway called Agamemnon, a Polwarth wool from Sheepish Creations. I knit it at DK weight so it is lighter and softer. The bright-colored one is a gift from my friend Cyd–she sent it to me after her travels to a fiber fair. It was my first attempt at N-ply, which ended up sort of overtwisted (I’m still learning!) into a heavy worsted weight yarn that will wear like iron. The overtwist gives a sort of felted or velour look to the finished fabric. The beanie I just love. It’s made out of Noro leftovers. I knit it top-down and custom fit it to my head. I may never take it off.